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Introduction

Appalachian Mountains

A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (980 ft) above the surrounding land. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges.

Mountains are formed through tectonic forces, erosion, or volcanism, which act on time scales of up to tens of millions of years. Once mountain building ceases, mountains are slowly leveled through the action of weathering, through slumping and other forms of mass wasting, as well as through erosion by rivers and glaciers.

High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level at similar latitude. These colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains: different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and climate, mountains tend to be used less for agriculture and more for resource extraction, such as mining and logging, along with recreation, such as mountain climbing and skiing.

The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Asia, whose summit is 8,850 m (29,035 ft) above mean sea level. The highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars at 21,171 m (69,459 ft). The tallest mountain including submarine terrain is Mauna Kea in Hawaii from its underwater base at 9,330 m (30,610 ft); some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

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An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: sandurs), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and carries the debris along. The meltwater at the snout of the glacier deposits its load of sediment over the outwash plain, with larger boulders being deposited near the terminal moraine, and smaller particles travelling further before being deposited. Sandurs are common in Iceland where geothermal activity accelerates the melting of ice flows and the deposition of sediment by meltwater. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

Aerial view of the Cordillera de Talamanca

The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two countries.

This range in the south of Costa Rica stretches from southwest of San José to beyond the border with Panama and contains the highest peaks of both Costa Rica and Panama, among them Cerro Chirripó at 3,820 metres (12,530 ft), and the more accessible high peak of Cerro de la Muerte. Much of the Caribbean areas of the range are still unexplored. (Full article...)

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Geomorphology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about geomorphology. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Climbing is a major US-based rock climbing magazine first published in 1970. In 2007, it was bought by Skram Media, the publisher of Urban Climber Magazine. The headquarters of the magazine is in Boulder, Colorado. It is published nine times a year. Climbing was purchased by Outside in 2021. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various mountain-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 2Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 3Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 4Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 5The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 6Everest is highest from sea level (green), Mauna Kea is highest from its base (orange), Cayambe is farthest from Earth's axis (pink) and Chimborazo is farthest from Earth's centre (blue) (from Mountain)
Image 7Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 8Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 9Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 10Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 11Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 12Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 13Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 14British mountaineer William Cecil Slingsby became known as the father of Norwegian mountaineering and contributed greatly to its popularization with his classic book Norway, the Northern Playground (from Mountaineering)
Image 15Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 16Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 17Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 18This 1848 "Sketch showing the actual elevation of the Snow Line in different Latitudes" by Alexander Keith Johnston shows the snow lines of mountains in America, Europe and Asia (from Snow line)
Image 19Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 20A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 21Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 22Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 23Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 24Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 25Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 26Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 27The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 28Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 29Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 30An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 31The Andes, the longest mountain range on the surface of the Earth, have a dramatic impact on the climate of South America (from Mountain range)
Image 32The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 33Treeline elevation by latitude (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 34Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 35Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak, United States (from Mountaineering)
Image 36The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 37Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 38Mont Blanc on the border between Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 39A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 40Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 41Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 42Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 43The Dolomite Mountains, Italy, in summer. The climate of the Dolomites is characterized by short but warm and mild summers, while winters are long and very cold. (from Mountain)

Selected skiing article

Free moving heels during the ascent are a defining characteristic of ski touring. After reaching the mountain top or other destination, the heel portions of the special touring bindings are fixated such that the skis behave like normal alpine skis on the typically long ride downhill.

Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the use of a ski lift or transport.

Ski touring combines elements of Nordic and alpine skiing and embraces such sub-disciplines as Telemark and randonnée. A defining characteristic is that the skier's heels are "free" – i.e. not bound to the skis – in order to allow a natural gliding motion while traversing and ascending terrain which may range from perfectly flat to extremely steep. (Full article...)

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